bordeaux – Workplace Navigator

This August I traveled to Barcelona with my son Benson, my daughter Natalie and her fiancé Kevin. We had spent 5 days in Bordeaux before arriving in Barcelona by train. I have been wanting to travel to Barcelona and Spain in general for the better part of twenty years. Leading up to traveling to Barcelona I had been watching countless Spanish language series on Netflix like Hache and La Catedral del Mar which take place in Barcelona. My previous travel to Spanish speaking countries has been mostly in South America, I wanted to get my ear accustomed to “Spanish” Spanish. While learning any romance language can help you in parts of Europe, I’m not sure all that effort was worth it although I really do enjoy watching foreign language shows.

My children walking through the “streets” of Barcelona

Here are my tips on traveling to Barcelona:

Transportation. Traveling by train from Bordeaux took us from Bordeaux to Narbonne (France) where we transferred to a train from Narbonne to Barcelona. The train ride from Narbonne to Barcelona is very scenic. We passed by the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain on one side and the Mediterranean on the other. There were kite surfers on the inlets and the rest of the landscape was mostly desolate. Upon arriving in Barcelona, Benson and Natalie decided we should take a subway to our apartment location. As we entered the Estacio Sants, I was entirely overwhelmed by all the signage and crowds snaking in and out of gates. I have to say I really wanted to get into a cab mostly because I am not a fan of maneuvering luggage on a subway and I freeze in confusion by the tumult. Yes, we went down some crowded staircases without escalators but in retrospect, it really was the best way to go. I’m glad I just trusted my kids to get us where we needed to go. After walking about a half mile with all our luggage (take suitcases with wheels please), we traversed what is a labyrinth of streets (neh, alleys) of the Gothic Quarter. There were no cars on these streets. If and when there is a car on these streets, it’s an event which shuts down a lot of the street making it impassable. Take public transportation, have either very light bags or sturdy bags with wheels because you will be walking with your luggage.

Catalan. Folks in Barcelona speak Catalan. If French and Spanish had a baby, it would be the language Catalan. This means that every sign, package and menu is in Catalan. Not Spanish. Not French. Yes, we were usually handed menus in English and the majority of folks in the Gothic Quarter spoke English and Spanish due to the high number of foreign tourists but you are immersed in Catalan. Most street signage is in Catalan which while somewhat similar to Spanish (it’s frequently written in Spanish below), it can get pretty confusing. Sortida is Catalan, Salida is Spanish and Sortie is French for Exit. I had to study Catalan on my language app for about three months before traveling to Barcelona but when I got there…I kept reverting to Spanish. Most will be able to speak English and will usually default to it in tourist areas but they speak Catalan and Catalan is not Spanish.

Food. Our apartment in Barcelona had a very small refrigerator, about the size of a large dorm refrigerator in the United States. This evolved into a happy turn of events because I never even tried to cook. This fortunately, “forced” us to eat out at practically every meal. The food in Barcelona was terrific. For the carnivores in our group, Benson, there was a huge array of sliced cured meats like jamon, chorizo, salchichon, lomo, and sobrassada. For a plant focused person like myself, the roasted peppers and eggplant was simple yet divine. The assortment of seafood was terrific and the octopus is not to be missed. Serendipitously, for foodies like my family, there were three of the best restaurants in Barcelona at the bottom of the stairs to our apartment. One of which was La Alcoba Azul (the blue bedroom), was directly below us. We had plates and plates of incredible food in the back of this cave like restaurant with very low ceilings, ancient wooden tables and candles that had what looked like centuries of melted wax. Every morning we ducked into a multitude of cafes for espresso and lattes and whatever their specialty was for breakfast: either crispy flakey croissant or pan con tomato. The only meal we had with a reservation, was at Gourmet Sensi. To my surprise they had some delicious creative vegetarian options like Ravioli with Truffles and Parmesan and Cannelloni made from eggplant. Each forkful was delicious. We reflected later that probably the best food was that last night in Barcelona at Gourmet Sensi. The Mercado de Boqueria is an enormous public market that has practically anything to go. You can get a cup of charcuterie, fruit slices, cheese slices, olives and roasted nuts…anything. When I go back to Barcelona, I will do a better job of planning my lunch to be eating my way through “La Boqueria”. In retrospect, I love that we rarely had a plan yet ate incredible food at every meal, snack and coffee break. My advice is to eat the food, everywhere and often.

Explore. Fortunately, our apartment had air conditioning which is unusual for the Gothic Quarter. It was nice to have a refuge from the 90-degree heat although there were plenty of beaches within either subway or walking distance as well. I finally put my toes in the Med at Playa del Bogatell. There are countless public beaches to choose from. There are numerous attractions like the public parks like Parc de la Cuitadella and Parc del Port Olimpic and anything designed by Antonio Gaudi is worth the trek like the Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Mila and Palau Guell. The Tempo de Augusto is a historic landmark that is part of a temple that was built by the Romans in the 4th century. FOURTH Century! There are several museums in Barcelona and we explored the Picasso Museum where they had some of his earliest works from when he was a teenager. It’s a remarkable transformation from a classic portrait painter as a fifteen-year-old to the cubism he was known for in his later years. His style so dramatically changes throughout the museum that I kept walking up to each one to verify it was Picasso who painted it. I think I could have explored Barcelona for another year and not found the same place twice. My advice is to get out and explore Barcelona, there are countless offerings.

I’m glad that we didn’t have a frenetic pace to our trip and that the four of us were together for a handful of things like dinners, a flamenco show and the Sagrada Familia. I spent time with each of my children separately and together and I had some time on my own. We constantly were weaving experiences together and apart. The result was a relaxing, delicious escape to an intriguing city. I cannot wait to return.

My adult children, Benson, Natalie and her fiancé, Kevin, and I planned a trip to Europe earlier this year. Barcelona was number one on my list and France was number one on theirs. Bordeaux became the starting point as my son, a competitive weightlifter, has a following in Bordeaux. This is the new reality of global connectivity and, even though Benson doesn’t speak French, he has folks some 4,000 miles away that follow his weightlifting career on social media. I was hesitant about Bordeaux since its notoriety is wine and I’ve been sober for over 5 years. I assumed, incorrectly, that there would be a preponderance of wine tasting rooms. I wasn’t sure how I was going to navigate it but to my surprise and delight, Bordeaux is such a beautiful, tranquil city I never thought twice about drinking and just relaxed into the pace and storybook atmosphere. It was the perfect pause.

My daughter, Natalie, my son, Benson and I in Bordeaux

Here is why Bordeaux is the perfect pause:

It’s a pedestrian city. The only car I was ever in was the taxi from the airport to our rental apartment. The rest of the time I was mostly on foot or on the tram. Between the cobblestones, ancient gates, pedestrian plazas and narrow streets, you are more likely to get run over by a skateboarder or bicyclist than a car. This makes for a much slower pace. The busiest street with vehicles was along the la Garonne River on the Quai Richelieu. I realized that not being hyper vigilant about cars and constantly looking both ways to cross the street is like a sedative.

Incredible accommodations. Somehow, when I booked the rental apartment, we scored a fabulous two bedroom apartment with a wraparound balcony, 14 foot ceilings within spitting distance of the Porte Cailhau (built in 1494). We were there in mid-August with afternoon highs in the mid-90’s and while we had fans, there was no air-conditioning. There were many a lazy afternoon, laying on the couch staring out at the Porte Cailhau waiting for Rapunzel or Sleeping Beauty to appear; somehow the heat just wasn’t that bad. We had an evening routine of opening all the floor to ceiling length shades, 7 sets of double French doors, and letting the river breeze cool off the apartment as the sun set about 9 pm. The Place du Palais, a pedestrian plaza, was right below our apartment and as the sun set, it came alive with a wandering saxophone player, and the murmur of crowds chatting over food and drink at outdoor cafes. I went to sleep every night with the buzz of laughter below and the cool breeze blowing in through the open balcony door. I was in the juxtaposition of being a part of street energy below yet curled up in bed.

The public spaces. We were in an easy 10-minute walk to many palaces, gates, parks, gardens and walkways. There was the picturesque Plains de la Bourse de Bordeaux surrounding the Fontaine des Trois Graces next to the Miror d’eau. The Miror d’eau is the world’s largest reflecting pool and covers 3,450 square meters. It is quite the attraction, especially during the summer, as children and adults are skipping, skating, crawling and strolling through the water all day long. It is vibrant and was filled with energy and laughter throughout the day and evening. The walkway along la Garonne, was very wide and throughout the day there would be musicians, skaters with boomboxes and all walks of life strolling down the thoroughfare. The Monument aux Girondins sits on one of the largest squares in Europe and has a Lady Liberty at the top of the fountain. There were countless places to wander.

The Place de Palais below our apartment in Bordeaux

Deep history. Bordeaux was first established in 300 B.C by the Celtics and has been inhabited and/or conquered by the Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, Franks and English. We happened into the Bordeaux Cathedral (Cathedral- Primatial Sainte-Andres de Bordeaux). This amazing cathedral was initially founded in 814. Last year I had read several books on English Queen Consorts and had read about Eleanor of Aquitaine. Imagine my surprise when I read that the 13-year-old Eleanor married the future Louis VII of France in this very cathedral in 1137. She became Queen of France, later divorced (when she was unable to bear him a son) and married Henry II and became Queen of England and mother to King Richard the Lionheart and King John of England (author of the Magna Carta). As I roamed the streets of Bordeaux, I was captivated by who had walked these streets before me.

The food. There are shops, and pubs, and markets, and restaurants, everywhere. If you can’t find a boulangerie on this block, walk one more and there will be one. Or a cafe with cafe au lait and the local favorite pastry, Canelé. I admit, I gave up on trying to be 100% plant based while in Bordeaux. We had platters of local oysters from Arcachon Bay and all kinds of cheese. Natalie managed to go to the local farmers market and grab some amazing goat cheese. The streets were constantly transforming throughout the day, where in the morning Chez Fred would be set up as an outdoor cafe with coffee and baguettes at 9 a.m., beer and wine with charcuterie by mid-day and by midnight all the chairs, tables and umbrellas would be packed up and gone without a trace and the Place du Palais would be empty. We stopped by an ice cream shop that made artisan ice cream and Natalie had rose flavored ice cream topped with dried rose pedals. The array of food was amazing; simply amazing

Bordeaux was the perfect pause because the pace is so laid back. I had no agenda. No place I had to be. The small television in the corner of our apartment stayed dormant. The section where we stayed was not a central tourist hub although there were plenty of people taking pictures of the Porte Cailhau throughout the day and evening. In fact, I can’t remember hearing English spoken in shops or in restaurants (except for us). I felt unplugged and floated through the day with hardly a plan. It’s a place to be present and in the moment.